The Queen
This is how she looks: majestic, regal. The effect is heightened because she’s mirrored, like the face cards in a deck of playing cards. The fact that she had no lower lip made me want to create one from the upper lip as well. In a deck of cards, she’s also a “lady,” because that’s […]
Symbols
An intriguing image; a woman holding a rooster in her hand with arrows in her shoulder. The rooster carries many meanings: vigilance, lust, and betrayal. The arrows in both shoulders are a symbol of the martyr Saint Sebastian. That’s why I think the rooster symbolizes betrayal. She has been betrayed and sacrificed, but remains innocent. […]
Frida
Frida Kahlo de Rivera has recently gained a sort of cult status, and I’m not entirely sure whether everyone is truly familiar with her work. That’s unfortunate, as her oeuvre certainly deserves that recognition. I once saw her work in Amstelveen, at the Cobra Museum. Frida was a courageous woman who, after a terrible accident, […]
Angel?
The story goes that this little boy with a halo and wings is a final call to turn back before stepping into a sex club to indulge in all sorts of pleasures. I don’t know if the story is true, but it was too fun not to believe. Hopefully, he’s saved a few marriages. There’s […]
He knows
He stares into the distance. Is it a he? I think so. It seems as though he’s understanding something or coming to a realization. His brows are furrowed. His green eyes gaze into the distance. Let’s not disturb him—that would be rude. With his headscarf, he could be a pirate. Pirate Bay exists on Curaçao, […]
Caribbean hummingbird
There are more birds that can hover in mid-air. Birds of prey “pray” in the sky, scanning for prey. But only one can hover stationary in front of a flower: the hummingbird. It turns out there are two types of hummingbirds on Curaçao—the Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird and the Blue-tailed Emerald Hummingbird. How they ever got there […]
Mr. Cool
I found this graffiti deep in Otrobanda, a neighborhood that used to be much less safe than it is now. This man doesn’t seem to care about that, though. He looks weathered and a bit worn, but stares ahead with determination and without fear. And he’s wearing an incredibly cool pair of sunglasses, hence the […]
Less is more
An ordinary wall in Otrobanda. With a very ordinary door. But what a stunning combination of colors, the yellow and the purple. I debated for a long time whether to leave the bare wall as it was or to add graffiti. As you can see, I chose not to. Sometimes less is more. In that […]
Ephemeral beauty
I love the vulnerability and transience of graffiti. On Curaçao, much of the graffiti is still in pristine condition, often on a neat background. So, I do something about that. I’ve photographed countless walls in Otrobanda and use them as backgrounds. This way, the image becomes more dynamic, layered, raw. This artist has adorned many […]
The whole world
When you ask a Surinamese or Antillean person about their ancestry, you usually get a long list of ethnicities: Creole, Dutch, Chinese, Indian, Indigenous. I see that reflected in the face of this beautiful woman as well. Mostly Creole, of course, but also a bit of Dutch and, oddly enough, Indigenous. I once visited the […]